A motorist stopped in a line of traffic in Castlemartyr suffered a serious back injury when his car was rear-ended by a Ford Transit van where the van driver had fallen asleep. Yesterday he was awarded over €116,000 in compensation.

A man who indiscriminately fired two shots from a revolver during disturbances at the Smithfield Horse Fair two years ago has been jailed for five years.

FOURTEEN men who had been convicted of offences arising from a Traveller feud in Co Kerry, yesterday withdrew their appeals against the severity of prison sentences.